It’s been nine years since the first Inside Out opened. The first one established a foundation, and this one elevates the experience to a whole new level. Inside Out 2 takes a deeper dive into emotions and all kinds of growth. This film has stellar animation galore. I walked out of the movie feeling mesmerized by the story which deeply connected to my own emotions. A combination of happiness, sadness, loneliness, and anxiousness were all swimming in my head. Inside Out 2 brings out strong feelings of empathy in a beautiful and poetic way.

The voices of the characters are back this time around. Each of them displays the emotions of the human, Riley, whose voice is played by Kensington Tallman. The emotions continue to thrive in this film. They are Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), Anger (voiced by Lewis Black), Fear (voiced by Tony Hale), Disgust (voiced by Liza Lapira), and Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke). These characters are all in their appropriate places for Riley, who is now in her teenage years, and off to Hockey camp. Given Riley is going through puberty, the characters hit some plateaus. There is a new world of challenges which portrayed like pieces of a puzzle which is falling apart.

The themes related to growing up combine into a unique creative adventure that I found exhilarating. There are scenes in which Riley is mentally discouraged as well as new paths she discovers to tackle new feelings. I appreciated the purity in the scenes which effectively portrayed the process of growing up. It made me think of The Toy Story franchise. As the child got older in that franchise, more challenges leading to new adventures came along, and opened even more doors. Joy takes the lead as the hero and navigates her way through various tough issues throughout the film. Anger plays a starring role in some parts and these strong emotions do not always see eye-to-eye.

With Riley being at a hockey camp, I felt the film’s writing was built on a strong foundation that allowed it to soar to newheights. Since Riley is not in one place as much as she was in the first film, she is now in a world with different people and diverse interaction. This gives the characters lots of ways to express their emotions. Riley’s self-esteem is the part that really brings out the positive feelings in Inside Out 2.

Ask yourself how you are feeling. Ask yourself if you are feeling up. Ask yourself if you are feeling down. No matter what emotions you’re feeling there is a wonderful message inside Inside Out 2. I enjoyed thinking about the characters and their feelings. Since audiences already know these feelings have a purpose, the story is very relatable. There are also moments in the film where the characters find themselves in hysterics which adds to the fun. In addition to the laughs, plenty of growth occurs in this invigorating animated film. Three out of four stars for Inside Out 2.